BA risks running New York service from T5 in weeks

Quids in? BA chief executive Willie Walsh could receive a bonus of up to £700,000 despite the Terminal 5 fiasco

British Airways is to shift its flagship New York service to Terminal Five early next month.

The eight departures a day route is by far the most important and profitable in BA's global network and another "day one disaster" would be catastrophic for the airline.

But BA's chief executive Willie Walsh said: "Terminal Five is now working well, and we are pleased we can confirm our plan to move in some additional flights on 5 June."

As well as New York, seven other daily long-haul destinations will move from Terminal Four that day - Abuja, Bangalore, Beijing, Cairo, Cape Town, Lagos and Phoenix.

Together they represent a quarter of the remaining long-haul services based at Terminal Four. The move will increase the number of passengers passing through the new £4.3 billion facility by about 25 per cent to more than 50,000 a day. The long-haul routes had originally been scheduled to move at the end of last month but it was delayed after the chaotic opening of the terminal in March. The transfer of the remaining 45 services is now due to be phased in over months.

The announcement came as it emerged that BA faces a clash with angry passengers and the City over payment of a bonus worth up to £700,000 to Mr Walsh.

The airline is expected to announce record profits of around £870 million next Friday, putting it on course to hit the 10 per cent margin needed to trig-ger bonuses for directors, senior managers and other staff. But with the memory of the Terminal Five fiasco still fresh, any decision by directors to pocket a bonus is certain to cause a backlash, according to City analysts.

One senior City figure told the Standard: "Insofar as the decision to open Terminal Five on 27 March was wrong, there should be consequences. This was not just a question of 'events, dear boy', the directors took the decisions and they were disastrous.

"BA is still in denial about just how bad the problem was, it was horrific. If the board do anything other than refuse to accept any bonuses they will look extremely foolish."

The catastrophic launch of Terminal Five five days before the end of the financial year marred what was otherwise a successful 12 months for BA with Mr Walsh earning plaudits for cutting costs and resolving a potentially damaging row over the pension fund.

Mr Walsh, who earns a basic salary of £700,000, is entitled to a bonus of up to 100 per cent if certain targets are met.

However, it depends on the company reaching the minimum threshold of a 10 per cent profit margin. If that is achieved - and City forecasts suggest BA will be very close to the target - Mr Walsh is entitled to 45 per cent of salary.

Other targets for "customer recommendation," punctuality and employee involvement as well as "personal contribution against objectives" could lift it to the maximum 100 per cent.